An incomplete Ghana without Dr. Nana.
It always starts with a thought, a thought that ensures hope but urges to work towards turning that hope into reality. Dr. Nana started with the same hope and today successfully continues to promote the best interest of every child, especially children with special needs in their survival, development, protection and participation. This is her motivation for setting up a non-profit organisation at the age of 18 and for authoring a book on marriage
to support spousal relationships. She has since then, followed this passion for 2 decades, and is an energetic child advocate in Ghana.
I could not have hoped to work with a better group towards making our little contribution, to help Dr. Nana’s NGO. All four of us, Sammi, Paige, Angie and I have loved each and every minute of this experience. From our zoom calls with Dr. Nana to presenting our work to our class and esteemed panel, the experience has and continues to be a memorable one. Our projects title is “to empower parents and families with knowledge for early detection of developmental problems in Ghana.” In Ghana, many parents are unable to identify the special needs of their children at different milestones. They tend to go to many clinics and have difficulty in accepting the child’s diagnosis as special needs due to the stigma. When the parents come to the hospital for care, it is typically very late for the child.
In order to contribute to Dr. Nana’s NGO and work, our group developed the idea of creating a screening tool for those parents who are illiterate or have difficulties in understanding. We made sure to focus on creating extremely compelling visuals that can not only help them understand better but also allow them to feel comfortable and supported in the process of learning. We also hand illustrated visuals to make our process as real and authentic as possible. Our group has been patient and keen throughout the process in order to learn as much as we can, understand Dr. Nana and create an impact that truly matters.
Lastly, I would like to thank our professors, my team and our very special Dr. Nana to extend her knowledge and wisdom to us. This experience was deeply touching and urged us to care beyond our basic knowledge on the issues in Ghana.
